


Broken Promise, Broken Heart

by patrickp



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M, The Ghost Of You music video au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 14:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5501150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patrickp/pseuds/patrickp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ghost of You music video au fic.</p>
<p>Mikey had one job. Come home alive to Pete. He even made a promise.</p>
<p>But Mikey's really bad at keeping promises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Promise, Broken Heart

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit this was really hard to write, it was so sad. but I hope I wrote it well, please leave any critiques you have in the comments!

Mikey had promised Pete one simple thing: that he’d come home alive.

Pete didn’t care if he came home without an arm or a leg, or if he didn’t remember who Pete was. All Pete wanted was to see him, alive. It seems like such a simple request, doesn’t it?

Pete remembered their last banquet together.

They’d told everyone in their division and everyone kept it secret, so Pete and Mikey could openly dance together. Pete had his arms wrapped around Mikey’s neck, leaned in close and grinning up at the taller man, Mikey’s arms wrapped around Pete’s waist.

“Alright ladies and gentleman, this is the last song of the evening so grabbed your loved one and start swaying to the music.”

Pete grinned up at Mikey, but it faded into a sad smile, knowing this was their last dance together for a long time. He blinked back tears and leaned his head onto Mikey’s chest, wrapping his arms around Mikey’s waist so it was more of a swaying hug, but Pete felt more secure and warm this way.

After the music had stopped and everyone gave the performers a round of applause, they all turned back to their loved ones, Pete collapsing into Mikey’s chest with a stifled sob. He couldn’t bear the idea of Mikey shipping out again. Mikey’d almost lost his life the last time, he didn’t want to think about life without Mikey.

“Come on, Pete, come on. We have to go home.” Mikey kissed the top of Pete’s head and peeled the sniffling smaller man off his chest, taking him by the hand as they exited the building. Once they got more than ten feel away from the building, Mikey dropped Pete’s hand, but Pete knew it was for safety reasons.

They walked in silence, Pete with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, kicking at leaves angrily as he shuffled along.

Once they reached their apartment, Mikey pinned Pete against the door. “Hey. I don’t want me to ship out either, but you being mad at me isn’t going to make it any better. Imagine if I died, hm? How would you feel if I died with you mad at me?”

“Mikey, shut up. I don’t wanna think about you dying. You promised me you’d come back alive.”

“And I fully intend to.” Mikey took a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure the curtains were drawn before leaning in and kissing Pete gently, trapping Pete’s bottom lip between his own.

Pete didn’t want Mikey to leave, but he got “you’re leaving and I’m sad” sex so it was kind of better.

\--------

Pete didn’t hear much news of Mikey while he was gone. That was… good, he guessed. That meant he wasn’t MIA or a POW, or… facing reality, dead.

But he refused to let himself think negatively. He had already planned it: the day Mikey came home, he would have the house neat and orderly and would have Mikey’s favorite dinner cooking when he came home.

And then he got news. The boys were coming home.

Pete cried for a good fifteen minutes. He hadn’t gotten news that Mikey died, so… that must have meant he was alive!

Pete was excited. He must have straightened the pillows on the couch fifteen times or more, and the entire house smelled absolutely divine.

He was anxiously waiting for the doorbell to ring, sitting on a chair by the kitchen table, left leg bouncing nervously, when the sound he’d been waiting for arrived.

Pete almost leapt at the door, but restrained himself and carefully pushed in his chair.

He calmly walked to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it, a grin starting on his face before—

That wasn’t Mikey.

Pete was, at first, confused. But then he saw who it was.

Gerard, Mikey’s older brother. They’d both been shipped out the same date, were in the same division and everything.

In his hands were a folded flag and a pair of glasses.

As Pete realized what the objects in his hands meant, he fell to his knees. He felt his throat tighten, but a scream let loose anyways. He crumpled all the way down, sobs violently racking his body. He let out another scream, choking for air as he cried.

Gerard bent next to him, rubbing his back and letting out a quiet “hush”, trying to calm him down.

When Pete had calmed down enough to sit up, he took one look at Gerard’s face, laced with sadness, and his eyes fell on the flag and glasses again, and that was it. He was crying again. He fell into Gerard, face buried in the older man’s neck as he cried.

Gerard hugged him back, and Pete felt wet on his shoulder. Gerard was crying too. They both stayed like that, hugging and crying, for a while, until they’d both calmed down enough to move.

Gerard took a shaky deep breath and handed Pete the flag and glasses. “They were given to me, since… since I was the closest person to him. But… they-they’re yours.” Pete took them from Gerard’s outstretched hands and held them close to his chest, a few more tears escaping.

“He tried to hold on, Pete. He did. He tried as hard as he could. Mikey… he was a fighter. He tried to come home for you.” Gerard gave Pete one last sad look. “I’m sorry, kid.” And he was gone.

\---------

Pete didn’t speak at Mikey’s funeral. He was too afraid he’d let out their secret.

But he did talk to Mikey. Pete sat right in front of Mikey’s grace, fingers tracing over the letters. Michael James Way. Pete held Mikey’s glasses in his hands, fiddling with them, and tried to imagine it was Mikey sitting in front of him instead of a cold slab of stone.

He could almost picture it.

Almost.

“Mikey, god damn it. You had one job. One job!” Pete gave a sad laugh. “You just… you had to go and get yourself shot, didn’t you? Asshole.”

Pete smiled at the headstone, tears slowly falling down his cheek.

“So, Michael James Way, I’m gonna tell you a story. It starts out with a boy named Mikey and another boy named Pete. They quite liked each other. Mikey was in the army.” Pete kept fiddling with the glasses. “But Mikey promised Pete that he’d come home alive. Got that? Alive. Very important detail. Alright so Mikey goes off to war. Does some fighting. Typical war stuff. But Pete. Pete’s sad. Very, very sad.

“He stays at home, all day. He cooks and he cleans and goes to work, then comes home and is sad some more. He looks at pictures of them together and feels nostalgic for the days when Mikey wasn’t in the war. But then he hears the soldiers are coming home. Now, he never got news that Mikey died, so it’s his assumption that Mikey’s alive, right?

“Wrong. He’s all ready for Mikey to come home—but when he answers the door, it’s Mikey’s brother, Gerard. Mikey got shot.”

“Now, this Pete guy was pissed as hell. Mikey promised him that he would come home alive! But he broke the promise. What an ass, amiright?”  
Pete sniffled and wiped away his tears, but still wore his sad smile.

“So Pete’s left all alone. Mikey was really his only friend. Pete wasn’t exactly a likeable guy.”

Pete leaned forward on the headstone, pressing his face against the cool rock and letting down the façade.

“Jesus Christ, Mikes, I miss you. Come home. Please Mikey, just… You fucking promised me, you know that? You fucking asshole. Out of all the promises you could have broken... it had to be this one.”

Pete sniffled and leans back, hiccupping. He looked down at the glasses in his hands, realized that they’re just going to bring reminders of this pain and of Mikey, that he doesn’t need them.

He set them down and started digging into the dirt with his fingers. It was freshly placed, so it was soft and easy to move. After he’d created a nice, deep hole that couldn’t be dug up easily, he gently laid the glasses in and covered the hole.

Pete stood, patted the headstone. “I hope you know something, Mikey.”

Pete could imagine Mikey smiling and giving a quiet ‘hm?’.

“You’re the love of my life. I was gonna marry you when you got home. I love you. And don’t you ever think for a second that I’m gonna fall in love with someone else. You were my one true love. And you blew it.”


End file.
